Poor Bilbo Baggins' home had been torn apart. The thirteen dwarves bustled noisily about, packing bags with food and clothes. Mei, unsure of what to pack for herself, just hung about in the kitchen, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. Although many of the dwarves (especially Thorin) had warmed up to her upon learning of what they thought were her "future-predicting powers," she still felt slightly nervous around them.
Instead of packing like everyone else, she had occupied herself by discreetly munching on the what was left of the chocolate cake Bombur had been eating.
She was just about to fork another bite into her mouth, when a voice said behind her, "Bombur would have a fit if he knew you've been eating his chocolate cake."
Mei whirled around, nearly stabbing herself in the chin with her fork.
Behind her, Kili leaned against a wooden antique cabinet. Although his position came across as casual, Mei could tell he had spent a decent amount of time adjusting himself to get into the most carefree and effortless position possible.
"Why, hello there Mr. Kili," she said with an overly formal tone, bowing slightly and waving her fork through the air.
He grinned. "A good evening to you as well, Miss Mei," Kili strutted over to where Mei was standing, and paused only a couple of feet away from her. The closer the dwarf grew to her, the faster Mei found her heart beating in her chest.
"I just came by to see if you needed any advice on what to pack," Kili said, after they had stood there, staring at each other for what had seemed like forever.
"Oh!" Mei said, startled. "Umm… yeah, some advice would be pretty helpful I guess. I've never been on an adventure or anything before."
"Well, you're in luck, because I happen to be quite the expert on adventures," Kili said, flashing her a wide grin. "Mind if I see your bag? Just to see what you already have packed, that is," he gestured to her messenger bag.
"Sure," Mei replied, making a move to lift the bag off her shoulder. But Kili took a few steps forward and gently took one of the bag straps in his hand. As he did, his hand brushed her arm, causing Mei to inhale sharply.
Kili quickly ended their contact, and lifted the bag off of Mei's shoulders. He raised his eyebrows at Mei as soon as he was carrying the full weight of the bag. "What have you got in here? Rocks? It must weigh as much as a fully grown dwarf!"
Mei laughed, but inwardly she was cursing herself. Of course the super cute dwarf touches your arm, and you suddenly get all twitchy and weird. Way to go, Mei, way to go.
Kili went to open her bag, but confusion soon dawned on his face. "What is this?" he asked, pointing to the zipper that sealed her bag.
"Oh," Mei giggled. "It's called a zipper. The people-the people on Earth-use it to close stuff like backpacks and even to secure things like jackets. Here, I'll show you how to open it," Mei picked up the zipper and pulled it sharply to the right, causing the zipper's many metal teeth to break apart from each other, leaving a trail of opened bag behind them.
"Wow…" Kili gasped, fingering one of the metal teeth. "This is amazing!"
"Yeah, I guess so," Mei said, who had grown up her whole life with zipper technology and didn't find it very impressive.
"What's this?" Kili asked, picking up a cardboard packet from inside her bag.
"It's gum," Mei answered, taking the gum packet from him and removing a stick. She handed the paper-wrapped slide to him. "You should try it!"
Kili took the gum and carefully unwrapped it. Upon seeing the green stick of gum inside, he wrinkled his nose. "I don't like green food," he said, looking disgusted.
"Aww, c'mon!" Mei said, laughing a little. "Just try it! You'll love it, I promise."
"If you say so…" Kili said warily, putting the gum into his mouth. As soon as it touched his tongue, his eyes immediately lit up. "I love it!" he cried.
"Told you so," Mei said in a sing-song voice, playfully nudging him. "Ooh, try this!" She pulled a protein bar (chocolate, with almonds and granola) out of her bag, unwrapped it, and handed it to him.
Kili shoved the whole thing into his mouth and chewed. "Your people on Earth have the best food!" he said, swallowing.
"Uh oh," Mei said, looking at him. "You didn't swallow the gum, did you?"
"Was I not supposed to?" Kili asked, eyes wide. He looked genuinely scared.
"Well, not exactly," Mei said. But to scare Kili even more, she added, "some people on Earth who have swallowed gum have actually died within the hour. It can be a very serious problem."
"Oh, Mahal help me," Kili gasped, clutching his throat.
Mei laughed hysterically.
"What're you laughing at?" Kili demanded. "I'm going to die! It's not funny!"
"I was just kidding," Mei giggled. "You're not going to die."
"Whew," Kili said, exhaling. "That was close."
"It sure was," Mei said, grinning at him.
"Kili!"
It was Balin, who had appeared in the doorway. He scanned the situation, saw how close Mei and Kili were standing, and waggled his eyebrows knowingly.
Mei blushed, quite sure that her cheeks were the same color as Balin's red Santa-Claus-like nose.
"Thorin needs you," Balin said, smiling at the two of them.
"Alright," Kili said, taking several steps away from where he and Mei had been standing. Then, he turned around, "I never got to help you pack!" he exclaimed to Mei.
"Oh, it's okay," Mei said. "I'm sure I can figure it out."
"You sure?" Kili asked.
"Yeah." Mei felt extremely uncomfortable under the amused watch of Balin in the doorway, and wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible.
With one last look back at Mei, Kili left the room, leaving just Mei standing near the kitchen table and Balin leaning against the doorframe.
Balin raised his eyebrow one last time, and then turn to follow Kili out of the room.
